Quick - can I freeze baked beans? (merged thread)

Poggie123

Sorry if this is a daft question....

I've got 2/3 of a can of beans in the fridge and I want to put then into little DD1 meal sized portion pots in the freezer. Will they be OK? Don't want to end up with bullets in tomato sauce!:o Thanks!

Lord_Lardington

No, they're fine. I use a lot of baked beans in recipes (Chilli etc) and they freeze just fine and don't go hard so I don't see why they would if you freeze them "Au naturelle".

Poggie123

Thank you! Will go and dig out some little pots and bung them in the freezer!

make_life_easier

I was wondering this question for a while as I always end up with half a tin left over and always end up throwing them away as they stay in the fridge for more than 3 days, Thanks;)

Caterina

I make my own baked beans in batches and freeze them - never a problem. HTH

Caterina

maxwellbuchanan

...you do need to be careful.

Baked Beans are rich in potassium, which exists naturally as several different isotopes.

Freezing tends to cause the components of the beans to separate out, with the last-freezing component becoming concentrated in the centre of the frozen mass. Because potassium is so soluble, it becomes extremely concentrated right in the centre of the mass of beans (which, of course, is the last part to freeze).

Now, depending on the batch of beans yours come from (there are growers in many parts of the world, and the potassium content and isotopic mixture of the beans can vary), there is a very small risk that the heavier isotopes of potassium will become concentrated in the centre to such an extent as to initiate a self-propagating nuclear reaction.

This in itself is not a catastrophe as long as the beans are stored in a plastic container - this is why an earlier poster recommended transferring them out of the tin. However, metal containers tend to reflect (instead of absorbing) neutrons.

I would emphasize that the risks involved are very small. However, it is possible that a critical state would be reached, causing a small (but nevertheless quite unpleasant) nuclear explosion.

Unless very large quantities of beans are involved, this is not quite as bad as it seems. Nevertheless, significant vaporisation of buildings within a radius of several miles cannot be excluded.

For this reason, you will note that Heinz (and other manufacturers of baked beans) do NOT recommend freezing of their product - just to be on the safe side. This is also why frozen baked beans are not sold in supermarkets. (Some frozen ready-meals do contain frozen baked beans; but these portion sizes are carefully controlled; some manufacturers also use special low-potassium beans for these purposes).

So, please weigh carefully the money-saving aspects of freezing half a tin of baked beans against the small (but finite) possibility of having your house and many of your neighbours vanish in a brilliant orange fireball. It's a tough one.

themull1

I often put baked beans in chilli and freeze with no problems.

wifefaefife

Does anyone know if it's ok to freeze baked beans?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

jings how many have you got when you want to freeze them, they will keep in fridge for a few days.

rosie383

I freeze them all the time. many times I will just use half a tin and know I won't use them for at least the next week, so bung them in the freezer.